By: Cami Koons
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear Iowa Pork Producers Association’s case against a California law that mandates the amount of space livestock animals, in particular hogs, have while being raised.
The Supreme Court has ruled on a previous case in favor of upholding the California law, which opponents argue puts an unfair burden on pork producers by impacting their ability to sell to the state.
The IPPA lawsuit argued Proposition 12, which voters approved in 2018, imposed excessive burdens on interstate commerce and discriminated against out-of-state farmers.
The case was heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which ruled in June 2024, in favor of California. IPPA filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review the decision, which is the petition the court denied Monday.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led more than 20 attorneys general from other ag-producing states on an amici curiae in support of the IPPA appeal to the Supreme Court.
Bird said in a statement Monday she was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision.
“Laws like this hurt Iowa’s rural communities and make it more difficult for Americans to enjoy the world-class pork products they have come to love and expect out of our state,” Bird said.
Bird said she would continue to fight against similar laws, including a Massachusetts law against which the attorney general also led an amici curiae with other states, urging for an appeal.
“States like California and Massachusetts should not dictate Iowa farming practices,” Bird said.
The California law, which went into effect in 2024, stipulates that regardless of where an animal was raised, it must comply with the state regulation on animal confinement in order to be sold in California. The law stipulates sow enclosures must have at least 24 square feet of room. The law, which passed as a state referendum, was supported by animal rights organizations that say this spacing would give the animals enough space to turn around freely.
The west-coast state is a major pork consumer, meaning its laws have a big impact on pork production across the country and in states like Iowa, which produces the most pork in the nation.
Pork producers said the law would disrupt the pork supply chain and raise costs at the consumer level, as producers retrofit their facilities to comply with the law.
Eldon McAfee, counsel for IPPA, said the organization was “disappointed, obviously” by the decision and that many pork producers “don’t understand” how a California law “can be enforced here in Iowa.”
McAfee said producers believe this should be a marketplace decision driven by consumer and producer choice, not an enforcement.
“We do not believe it can be mandated by law, we believe it is unconstitutional,” McAfee said. “But the court disagreed in the NPPC case and declined to accept this case.”
McAfee referenced a Supreme Court decision against the National Pork Producers Council’s petition of the California law.
He said while the court did not issue an explanation of the decision, the docket entries show justices discussed the case seven times before eventually declining the petition, with Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissenting.
McAfee said the next step forward is legislative action.
“The courts have stated the basic premise that it is the federal government, Congress, that regulates interstate commerce,” McAfee said. “We believe the best option is federal legislation … to prevent this type of law.”
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Iowa, has also been a vocal opponent of Proposition 12, working with other Republicans in Iowa and other states to advance legislation the past several years that would supersede the state law.
“This mandate on Iowa hog farmers increases pork prices for families, makes hog farming needlessly more expensive, harms our rural communities, and threatens our food security,” Feenstra said in a statement Monday. “I remain committed to getting a new, five-year Farm Bill signed into law that repeals Prop 12 and delivers certainty and clarity for our hog farmers.”
This article was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch, a part of States Newsroom.